Legislators Griffo, Brindisi seek more Family Court judges

State legislators are seeking to lessen Oneida County Family Court's caseload by adding a new judge to the bench.

State legislators are seeking to lessen Oneida County Family Court’s caseload by adding a new judge to the bench.

This year’s state budget includes $5 million to add 20 new Family Court judges across the state, and Oneida County is among those with the greatest need for an additional judge based on its number of court filings, state Sen. Joseph Griffo and state Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi said Tuesday in a joint news release.

Oneida County currently has three family court judges – Randal Caldwell, James Griffith and Joan Shkane – who are among the state’s 153 judges who handle a total of more than 700,000 filings a year, the release states. Family Court judges handle, on average, a caseload that is four times greater than state Supreme Court judges and 10 times greater than County Court judges handling felony crimes.

“The people who are awaiting a decision before the Oneida County Family Court should not have to put their lives on hold due to unnecessary delays,” stated Brindisi, D-Utica. “Adding a judgeship will help ensure that court cases are handled in a timely and efficient manner.”

Scheduling delays in overburdened family courts lead to critical decisions being unmet, including whether children can return home or visit their parents, can be placed with siblings or can be adopted, the release states. In a federal government review, New York ranked third-to-last in the amount of time a child spends in foster care.

“These delays have caused incalculable trauma to children and families, and unnecessarily subjected domestic violence victims to continued harm,” stated Griffo, R-Rome. “It also results in repeat appearances by court attorneys and increased state and county payments to foster care – a great waste of taxpayer money. This $5 million allocation is a good step in improving our flawed Family Court system.”

Oneida County’s Department of Social Services is a primary service provider to people in need, County Executive Anthony Picente stated. As a result, these social service workers and attorneys encounter Family Court on a daily basis.

“We see firsthand how these courts are overworked to the point of complete saturation,” Picente stated. “For the sake of the parents and children involved, I strongly support Senator Griffo and Assemblyman Brindisi’s efforts to secure Oneida County one of the 20 new judicial positions that have been recently created.”